JP3595579B2 - Image processing apparatus and image processing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine.And image processing methodIn particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus for performing a predetermined marker editing based on information of a color marked on a document with a predetermined color marker.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a color copying machine, a marker editing function of enclosing or tracing a desired range on a black-and-white document with a commercially available marker pen to color the range has been proposed. Such a marker editing function is, for example, to color the inside of a desired closed section 1000 determined by a black line with a blue color marker 1001 on a white background document as shown in FIG. 38B, a desired black line 1002 can be drawn on a document with a white base as shown in FIG. 38A by printing in a paint mode in which the entire closed section is colored blue as shown in FIG. By coloring the periphery of the line with the red color marker 1003, a plurality of modes such as a line mode in which a black line is converted to a red line and printed out as shown in FIG. General.
[0003]
First, the determination of the paint mode shown in FIG. 37 will be described. If the read line is line A at a certain timing during the image reading operation of FIG. 7A, if the output order of the pixel data is in the direction of the arrow,..., White, black, blue, white,. , Blue, black, white,... Therefore, it is determined that the paint mode has been started from the first blue pixel by detecting the presence of black immediately before the blue that first appeared. Further, by detecting that the color immediately after the last blue is black, it is determined that the paint mode has been completed with the last blue pixel. Therefore, the paint mode is realized by outputting all the pixels (blue, white,..., White, blue) between the paint modes as blue data.
[0004]
Next, the determination of the line mode shown in FIG. 38 will be described. If the read line at a certain timing is line B during the image reading operation of FIG. 7A, if the output order of the pixel data is in the direction of the arrow,..., White, red, black,. , White,... In this order. Therefore, by detecting that there is white immediately before the first appearing red, it is determined that the line mode has been started from the first red pixel. Further, by detecting that the color is white immediately after the last red, it is determined that the line mode has been completed at the last red pixel. Therefore, among the pixels (red, black,..., Black, red) between the line modes, the line mode is realized by outputting the red pixels as white data and the black pixels as red data.
[0005]
As described above, the start mode is determined based on whether the pixel immediately before the pixel where the marker color is first detected is white or black, and if the start mode is the paint mode, the marker color is finally detected. When the pixel immediately after the detected pixel is black, the mode is ended. When the start mode is the line mode, the mode is controlled to end when the pixel immediately after the pixel at which the marker color is finally detected is white. You.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the color conversion mode is determined by the state of the marker coloring by the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 39A, the user desires the line mode marker processing on the original image 1004 and performs the marker coloring. Occasionally, color 1005 may occur due to uneven coating due to overcoating, and the following inconveniences have been encountered. That is, since the color 1005 has a darker marker color than the color 1006 in the normal painted state, the color 1005 and the color 1006 are erroneously determined to be individual colors, and the output result as shown in FIG. Was sometimes
[0007]
In addition, the color of the paper used for the original is mainly white, but there is something that is a little colored like recycled paper or glossy, the color of the marker pen varies, the original In some cases, erroneous determination of the read color occurs due to factors such as variations in the characteristics of the color filter of the sensor that reads the image, and an output result not intended by the user may be obtained.
[0008]
Further, the color of the marker pen differs depending on the country even if it has the same name (for example, “red”). In addition, some marker pens are sold (available on the market) in some countries, while others in eight colors are not standardized. For this reason, it is difficult to correctly recognize all the colors of the marker pens for color marking used all over the world, and erroneous color determination has occurred.
[0009]
The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above points, and an image processing apparatus capable of preventing erroneous determination of a read color and performing accurate marker editing.And image processing methodThe purpose is to provide.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises: document reading means for reading a document; and marker color determination means for determining a color marked on the document with a predetermined color marker based on the read image data. In an image processing apparatus that performs a predetermined marker editing based on the color information obtained, a marker color registration unit for reading and registering in advance color data marked by the predetermined color marker is provided,The marker color registration unit reads color data in an area that has been painted multiple times with the same color marker and registers the marker color,The marker color determination means compares the registered color data with the read color data when reading the document., Color as a marker of the same color no matter how many times it is paintedIt was decided to judgeis there.
[0013]
Furthermore, in order to achieve the same object, the present invention includes a document reading unit that reads a document, and a marker color determining unit that determines a color marked on the document with a predetermined color marker based on the read image data, In an image processing apparatus that performs a predetermined marker editing based on information of a marked color, an area determination unit that determines an area where the apparatus is sold is provided, and the marker color determination unit includes an area where the apparatus is sold. The parameter for color determination is changed in accordance with.
[0014]
Further, the area determining means determines a sales area based on a scaling setting of the apparatus, determines a sales area based on area information added to a print head of the apparatus, or is supplied to the apparatus. It is desirable to determine the sales area based on the characteristics of the AC power supply.
[0015]
Further, the print head of the apparatus may be provided with parameter storage means for storing color determination parameters, and the marker color determination means may perform color determination using the color determination parameters stored in the parameter storage means. desirable.
[0016]
Preferably, the color of the ink stored in the print head is the same as the color of the main color of the color determination parameter.
In order to further achieve the same object, the present invention has a document reading step of reading a document, and a marker color determining step of determining a color marked on the document with a predetermined color marker based on the read image data, In an image processing method for performing a predetermined marker editing based on information of a marked color, a marker color registration step of reading and registering color data marked by the predetermined color marker in advance and registering the marker data is provided. Reading the color data in the area that has been overpainted a plurality of times with the same color marker and registering the marker color, and comparing the registered color data and the read color data when reading the original document in the marker color determination step. Thus, the color is determined as a marker of the same color regardless of how many times the paint is applied.
In order to further achieve the same object, the present invention has a document reading step of reading a document, and a marker color determining step of determining a color marked on the document with a predetermined color marker based on the read image data, In an image processing method for performing a predetermined marker editing based on information of a marked color, an area determining step of determining an area where an image processing apparatus performing the image processing method is sold is provided, and the marker color determining step includes: The parameter for color determination is changed according to the region where the image processing apparatus that carries out the image processing method is sold.
[0017]
[Action]
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.And an image processing method according to claim 8.According to, color data marked by a predetermined color marker is registered in advance,Read the color data in the area that has been painted multiple times with the same color marker and register the marker color,By comparing the registered color data with the read color data when reading the original,Color as the same color marker regardless of how many times it is paintedIs determined.
[0022]
Claim2Image processing equipmentAnd an image processing method according to claim 9.According to the above, the region where the device is sold is determined, and the parameter for color determination is changed according to the sales region.
[0023]
Claim3Or5According to the image processing apparatus, the sales area of the apparatus is determined based on the magnification setting of the apparatus, area information added to the print head of the apparatus, or the characteristics of the AC power supply supplied to the apparatus. You.
[0024]
Claim6According to this image processing apparatus, the parameter for color determination is stored in the parameter storage means provided in the print head of the apparatus, and color determination is performed using the stored parameter for color determination.
[0025]
【Example】
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0026]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the marker editing circuit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a color CCD sensor, which separates a read image signal of a document into RGB signals and outputs the signals to an analog amplifier 52. The analog amplifier 52 amplifies the input signal with a predetermined gain (amplification factor). This amplified signal is input to the A / D converter 53, and the analog signal is converted into an 8-bit digital signal. The digital signal output of the A / D converter 53 is input to a color code determination circuit 54 and a marker color registration circuit 55. The color code determination circuit 54 compares the input signal from the A / D converter 53 with the output signal of the marker color registration circuit 55, and converts the input signal into a 6-bit code signal corresponding to the determined marker color. . That is, the input 256 × 256 × 256 = 167777216 color signal is converted into a predetermined 64 color code.
[0027]
This is based on the premise that the colors present on the marker document are limited to white and black and the marker colors sold in the market, and is a circuit for reducing the scale of the data processing circuit thereafter. is there. Detailed operations of the color code determination circuit 54 and the marker color registration circuit 55 will be described later.
[0028]
The output signal of the color code determination circuit 54 is input to an area determination circuit 56, which determines whether the area being read belongs to a normal area, a line area, or a paint area. See below). The output signal of the area determination circuit 56 is input to an output color determination circuit 57, which determines the output color according to the color code and the area mode, and converts the output color into 8-bit image data corresponding to the determined color. The data is converted and sent to the next image processing circuit.
[0029]
The determination of the two processing modes of the paint mode and the line mode in the area determination circuit 56 is based on the following conditions.
[0030]
(1) Paint mode: in the normal area, when the read color changes from “black” to “color”, the pixel in which the first “color” is read is switched to the paint mode, and “color” → “black” The paint mode continues until the transition of. When the transition from “color” to “black” is detected, the mode returns to the normal mode.
[0031]
(2) Line mode: in the normal area, when the read color changes from “white” to “color”, the pixel from which the first “color” is read is switched to line mode, and “color” → “white” The line mode is continued until the transition of is detected. When the transition from “color” to “white” is detected, the mode returns to the normal mode.
[0032]
In accordance with the above rules, an image signal on which a marker process has been performed while reading an image on the document is output from the marker editing circuit.
[0033]
Next, the marker color registration circuit 55 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the marker color registration circuit 55 creates a color page sheet 60 with a marker to be registered at a predetermined position on the document sheet, reads this, and performs data processing to register the color of the marker to be used. . That is, in FIG. 2, the regions 61a to 61c are defined as the colored regions of the green marker, and the regions 62a to 62c are defined as the colored regions of the pink marker, and the user can paint the region 61a only once without painting twice with the green marker desired to be used. Similarly, the area 61b is colored by applying the green marker twice, and the area 61c is colored by applying the green marker three times. Similarly, the areas 62a to 62c are painted once, painted twice, and painted three times, respectively, with a pink marker to be used. The color page sheet 60 thus created is set at a predetermined position on a scanner platen (not shown), and reading by the color CCD 51 is started. The image signal of the page converted into an 8-bit digital signal by the A / D converter 53 is input to the marker color registration circuit 55.
[0034]
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the marker color registration circuit 55. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes an averaging circuit, which samples input color information for, for example, 64 pixels for each RGB and calculates an average value. Reference numeral 11 denotes an Rmax detection circuit, which outputs a signal 1 when the R signal of the output of the averaging circuit 10 is FFh (all eight bits are 1, ie, the R component is the maximum value), and otherwise outputs (00h to FEh). Outputs a signal 0. Reference numerals 12 and 13 also denote a Gmax detection circuit and a Bmax detection circuit having functions similar to those of the Rmax detection circuit 11, and detect whether or not the G signal and the B signal are the maximum values, respectively. Reference numeral 14 denotes a ratio calculation circuit to which output signals of the averaging circuit 10, the Rmax detection circuit 11, the Gmax detection circuit 12, and the Bmax detection circuit 13 are input. The ratio calculation circuit 14 calculates the ratio of the input R, G, B signals and outputs the ratio data as 6-bit ratio data for each color. Reference numeral 16 denotes a backup battery, which is provided with a predetermined voltage to the memory 15 so that stored data is not erased even when the power of the apparatus is turned off.
[0035]
FIG. 4 shows a table of calculation rules for ratio data. As can be seen from FIG. 4, when calculating the ratio, the deciding factor for determining which of the reference colors is RGB depends on the outputs of the Rmax detection circuits 11 to Bmax detection circuit 13.
[0036]
In FIG. 4, Type 1 is a case where all the Rmax detection circuits 11 to Bmax detection circuits 13 output 0. At this time, the second data represents the extent to which the data is larger than the reference with respect to the color having the second largest data. For example, when the input RGB data is 43, A8, 67, respectively, the B data (67) is used as a reference. Since the ratio data of the ratio calculation circuit 14 is 6 bits as described above, the reference data is set to an intermediate value of 20h. For other colors (R and G in this case), consider expressing the ratio from x1 / 4 to x4 with reference to 6 bits, and assign x1 / 4 to 00h and x4 to FFh. , The difference of one step of the data is 0.0625 times the reference value. That is, if (R, G, B) = (43, A8, 67), the RGB ratio data output from the ratio calculation circuit 14 is as follows:
Since R: G: B = 0.6505: 1.63111: 1, approximation is (R, G, B) = (1Ah, 2Ah, 20h).
[0037]
Type 2 to 4 are cases where only one of the Rmax detection circuits 11 to Bmax detection circuit 13 outputs 1. At this time, the color indicating the maximum value (the color for the circuit that outputs 1) is set to the reference value 20h, and the remaining two colors are indicated to be larger than the reference.
[0038]
Types 5 to 7 are cases where any two circuits among the Rmax detection circuits 11 to Bmax detection circuit unit 13 output “1”. In this case, since the first and second data are both FFh, this is set as the reference value 20h. Naturally, the color indicating the minimum value is calculated as a value smaller than 20h. Such a marker color is determined by the color code determined by the color code determination circuit 54 at the subsequent stage only based on information on the color size indicating the minimum value. For example, a color corresponding to Type 7 is It is a color that has an extremely large amount of magenta component, and the types of markers that are sold in the market having such color characteristics are at most one or two types, so that it is easy to determine.
[0039]
Type 8 is a case where all the Rmax detection circuits 11 to Bmax detection circuits 13 output “1”. Since such data is pure white data, it indicates that a marker is not painted on a predetermined pad position. If data corresponding to Type 8 is input, control is performed by a control circuit (not shown) so as to issue a buzzer warning to the operator.
[0040]
The averaging circuit 10 inputs the color pads shown in FIG. 2 in the order of 61a, 61b, 61c, 62a, 62b, 62c,. The RGB ratio of the green marker is determined by 61a, 61b, and 61c. However, as shown in FIG. 5A, all the signals are smaller than FFh, and the ratio does not substantially change due to the difference between the pads. Therefore, (R, G, B) = (1Ah, 2Ah, 20h) is output from the ratio calculation circuit 14 as an average value of the ratios of the three packages, and the data is written to the memory 15.
[0041]
On the other hand, the read data of the color pad by the pink markers of the color pads 62a to 62c in FIG. 2 is as shown in FIG. 5B, and when the R signal is applied once and twice, FFh, When the B signal is painted once, it is FFh. Therefore, the ratios due to the differences in the pads are different between 62a to 62c. This is a phenomenon that occurs because the pink marker hardly contains a C (cyan) component that is a complementary color of R (red) and a Y (yellow) that is a complementary color of G (green). As described above, if at least one of the outputs of the Rmax detection circuit 11 to the Bmax detection circuit 13 is output, the data of the package in which 0 is output is ignored, and the data of the package in which the number of 1 is large is ignored. Is processed to calculate the ratio.
[0042]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process for determining which data is to be used in the calculation in the ratio calculation circuit 14.
[0043]
In Step 1, first, it is detected whether or not there is a signal in which 1 appears in the outputs of the Rmax detection circuits 11 to Bmax detection circuit 13 when three kinds of packages are read. If 1 does not appear, the process proceeds to No and the average ratio is calculated according to the condition of Type 1 according to the table of FIG. 4 (Step 1a). The green pads 61a to 61c in FIG. 2 correspond to this condition. If at least one 1 appears in Step 1, the process proceeds to Step 2.
[0044]
In Step 2, it is detected whether or not the number of “1” appearing in the output of the Rmax detection circuit 11 to the Bmax detection circuit 13 is equal to all three packages. If Yes, the average of the ratio is calculated according to the table in FIG. 4 (Step 2a). If No, the process proceeds to Step 3. In Step 3, it is detected whether or not the user has colored the marker at a predetermined position. That is, if there is a package in which the number of “1” appearing in the outputs of the Rmax detection circuit 11 to the Bmax detection circuit 13 is 3, the process proceeds to Yes and a warning by a buzzer is generated (Step 3a). This corresponds to Type 8 in FIG. If No, the process proceeds to Step 4.
[0045]
In Step 1, it is detected that the number of colors that become FFh is at least one. In Step 2, it is detected that the number of colors that become FFh is not the same in the three packages. In Step 3, the number of colors that become FFh is detected. Since it is detected that the three packages do not exist in the three packages, the combination of the number of “1” appearing in the outputs of the Rmax detection circuits 11 to Bmax detection circuit 13 in Step 4 is 2− * There are only two types, i.e.,-* (in random order) or 2 -2-* (in random order). Here, * means one or zero. In Step 4, when two-*-* combinations are used, only two pieces of pad data are used, and the ratio is calculated according to the table of FIG. 4 (Step 4a). In addition, in the case of a combination of two pieces-two pieces-* pieces, two pieces of data of the package in which two pieces appeared are used, and the ratio is calculated according to the table of FIG.
[0046]
For example, the input data of the pad 62a by the pink marker shown in FIG. 5B is (R, G, B) = (FFh, 8Ch, FFh), and the input data of the pad 62b is (R, G, B) = ( FFh, 4Ah, D5h), and if the input data of the package 62c is (R, G, B) = (FFh, 2Eh, 8Eh), two-*-* processing of Step 4a in FIG. Is That is, corresponding to Type 6 in FIG. 4, ratio data (R, G, B) derived from only the input data (R, G, B) = (FFh, 8Ch, FFh) of the package 62a = (20h, 11h, 20h) ) Is calculated.
[0047]
The ratio data thus calculated is stored in the memory 15 of FIG. The memory 15 is composed of, for example, a RAM, and the addresses of the RAM need only be prepared for the number of markers to be registered. The memory 15 is controlled by a CPU (not shown), data is read as necessary, and the data is sent to the color code determination circuit 54 via the CPU. Next, the operation of the color code determination circuit 54 will be described.
[0048]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of the color code determination circuit 54. 3, reference numerals 116 to 119 denote an Rmax detection circuit, a Gmax detection circuit, a Bmax detection circuit, and a ratio calculation circuit, respectively. The Rmax detection circuit 11, the Gmax detection circuit 12, the Bmax detection circuit 13, and the ratio detection circuit 14 shown in FIG. It has the same function as. Reference numeral 111a denotes a comparator that determines whether or not the output data of the ratio calculation circuit 119 that is input is the ratio of the green marker. Similarly, 111b, 111c,... Are comparators for judging whether the input data has a ratio corresponding to a single marker color, and have the same number as the number of markers to be registered / determined. Registers 112a, 112b, 112c,... In which ratio data for each marker read from the memory 15 in FIG. 3 are written are connected to the B input of each comparator.
[0049]
For example, the ratio data of the green marker is written in the register 112a, and the ratio data of the pink marker is written in the register 112b. The comparators 111a, 111b, 111c... Output a signal “1” when the data input to the A terminal and the data input to the B terminal are similar. For example, if each of the RGB ratio data is within the range of ± 2, the CPU is controlled by a CPU (not shown) to output a signal “1”.
[0050]
However, if any one of the Rmax detection circuits 11 to Bmax detection circuit 13 outputs “1” to the ratio calculation circuit 14 in the marker color registration circuit shown in FIG. , "1", the approximate range is adjusted. That is, if the number of “1” is one, if the respective ratio data of RGB is a difference within the range of ± 4, each comparator is controlled to output 1, and if the number of “1” is two, If the number is RGB, control is performed so that each comparator outputs 1 if the respective ratio data of RGB is a difference within the range of ± 8.
[0051]
As described above, by changing the control range of the comparator according to the number of “1”, the color determination is correctly performed even for the marker colors having different RGB ratios depending on the state of the overpainting such as the pink marker. As an example of a pink marker, if the ratio data of each of RGB is set so that the comparator outputs “1” with a difference within a range of ± 8, the ratio data of 62b and 62c in FIG. Even if it is input, the comparator 111b outputs “1”.
[0052]
The outputs of the comparators 111a, 111b, 111c... Are input to AND gates 113a, 113b, 113c. Registers 114a, 114b, 114c,... In which predetermined color code data are set are connected to the other inputs of the AND gates 113a, 113b, 113c,. For example, color code data of a green marker (tentatively 001) is set in the register 114a, and color code data of a pink marker (tentatively 002) is set in the register 114b.
[0053]
Reference numeral 115 denotes an OR gate to which all outputs of the AND gates 113a, 113b, 113c,... Are input. That is, since only one of the comparators 111a, 111b, 111c... Outputs the signal “1” based on the ratio data output from the ratio calculation circuit 119, the data output from the OR gate 115 is read. Data corresponding to the color of the marker is output.
[0054]
The output of the OR circuit 115 is input to the area determination circuit 56 as described above as the output of the color code determination circuit 54, and it is determined whether the area being read belongs to a normal area, a line area, or a paint area. Is determined. The output of the area determination circuit 56 is input to an output color determination circuit 57, which determines the output color in accordance with the color code and the area mode, converts the output color into 8-bit image data corresponding to the determined color, and performs image processing at the next stage. Sends data to the circuit.
[0055]
In the above-described embodiment, the color page sheet is colored in the format of FIG. 2, but the color page sheet may be in the format of FIG. 8, for example. This reduces color coating unevenness and reduces the number of color coating areas, which is convenient. In FIG. 8, reference numerals 121 to 123 denote black frames having a predetermined line width. First, the operator paints the inside of the black frame 121 with the marker pen. Next, the inside of the black frame 122 is painted, and finally, the inside of the black frame 123 is painted.
[0056]
A reading sequence when a color page sheet of such a format is read and marker color registration is performed will be described. If black is detected in the read image data, it indicates that the image data enters the area of the color page. Since the detected black is the black frame 121, the color data appearing next to the black is the marker color painted once. If black is detected next, the black is the black frame 122, and the color data appearing next to black is the marker color painted twice. Further, if black is subsequently detected, the black is the black frame 123, and the color data appearing next to black is the marker color painted three times. In this way, by reading the color data of the first- to third-time marker colors and registering the marker colors, the color registration can be performed at high speed because the reading area at the time of color registration is narrow. In addition, since the color data after the detection of the black frame is recognized as the marker color, the color registration can be performed correctly even when the color pad sheet is set on the platen even if the position is slightly shifted.
[0057]
Then, according to the registered color data of the first to third coating, the color can be determined as a marker of the same color regardless of the number of coatings.
[0058]
(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0059]
First, the contents of marker editing in this embodiment will be described. When a monochrome document is colored with a color marker and the marker is edited, an output as shown in FIG. 9 is obtained.
[0060]
That is, {circle around (1)} marking the inside of a closed area separated by a black line as shown in the upper part of the figure (however, it is necessary to mark adjacently within 1 mm from the black line), the marker inside the closed area Filled with the color. {Circle over (2)} As shown in the middle part of the figure, marking is performed so as to include the black line (however, the black line needs to be filled with a width of 1 mm or more), and the black line is replaced with the marker color. . (3) Furthermore, as shown in the lower part of the figure, a composite type of the above (1) and (2) is used to mark the inside of a closed area separated by the outer black line with a first color and also to mark the inner black line. , The inside of the outer black line is filled with the first color, and the inner black line is replaced with the second color.
[0061]
FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the image processing section of the full-color copying machine used in this embodiment to realize these processes. Reference numeral 221 denotes a CCD line sensor for reading an original image and outputting RGB data; 222, an amplifier circuit for amplifying RGB data; 223, an AD converter for quantizing the RGB data into an 8-bit digital value; and 224, shading of image data. A shading correction circuit 225 for correcting a color misregistration correction circuit 225 for correcting misregistration of read RGB data, a black character detection circuit 226 for detecting a black character and generating a black character signal, a marker editing circuit 227 for a marker editing circuit, and a enlargement circuit 228 for an enlargement A scaling circuit for performing scaling of reduction, a control signal generation circuit 229 for generating signals used in the spatial filter 233 and the binarization circuit 235, a LOG conversion circuit 230 for performing LOG conversion according to a LOG table, and a reference numeral 231 for LOG conversion After CMY (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) data 232 is a masking / UCR circuit that performs masking and UCR by matrix operation, 233 is a spatial filter circuit that performs edge enhancement or smoothing processing, and 234 is a gamma (γ) conversion of the input signal. A gamma conversion circuit 235, a binarization circuit for binarizing 8-bit multivalued data by a dither method or the like, a head timing adjustment circuit 236 for adjusting between CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) heads; 237 is a head driver circuit for driving the adjusted head, and 238 is a BJ ink head for four colors of CMYK. However, when performing the marker editing processing, the LOG conversion circuit 230 and the masking / UCR circuit 232 are set so as not to perform any processing (through).
[0062]
Next, details of the marker editing circuit 227 will be described with reference to the entire block diagram of FIG. The image data composed of 8 bits of R, G, and B is converted into 8-bit image data of C, M, and Y by a LOG conversion circuit 240, and enters a black-and-white determination circuit 241. Here, each pixel has monochrome and each threshold value, and if all the data values of CMY are equal to or less than the threshold value of white, the pixel is determined to be white. If all of the data values are equal to or greater than the black threshold value, it is determined to be black. As a result, pixels determined to be white or black are coded by the determination color coding circuit 244.
[0063]
Pixels determined to have a color other than black and white are input to the main color extraction circuit 242. This circuit outputs which of the CMY components is the largest. Next, the color determination circuit 243 performs color determination. As shown in FIG. 12, the discrimination method determines the ratio of the remaining two components for each of the main colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) obtained by the main color extraction circuit 242, and determines the color by the ratio of each of the CMY components. I do. For example, if the main color is M (magenta), C (cyan) is 3/8 or less thereof, and Y (yellow) is 5/8 or less thereof, the pixel is determined to be P (pink). A portion where CMY has a ratio of approximately 1: 1: 1 is determined to be black, because light black (gray) not reaching the black threshold level is also determined to be black. In other words, black is determined in two stages. In the color discrimination table shown in FIG. 12 for discriminating colors based on the ratio between the main color and the remaining two components with respect to the main color, the color of the read image can be changed. The details of determining the color will be described later.
[0064]
The CMY component ratio is used for the determination because each color has a specific CMY component ratio and its value is substantially constant with respect to the density of the color.
[0065]
The output of the color determination circuit 243 is converted into a 4-bit color code by the determination color coding circuit 244 as shown in FIG. 13, and the converted color code is input from the marker color determination circuit 251 to the isolated color removal circuit 252. You.
[0066]
In the isolated color removal circuit 252, as shown in FIG. 14, the central pixel of interest * is determined by looking at the surrounding pixels on the 3 × 3 matrix, and the following processes 1) to 4) are sequentially performed.
[0067]
1) When * ≠ A and * ≠ H, * = A
2) When * ≠ C and * ≠ F, * = C
3) When * ≠ D and * ≠ E, * = D
4) When * ≠ B and * ≠ G, * = B
That is, the processing is performed in the order of 1), 2), 3), and 4), and the target pixel is changed if the conditions are satisfied. Here, reference numeral 245 denotes a delay circuit that stores eight pixels around the target pixel, and 246 denotes a comparison circuit that performs comparison between the above-described pixels. The reason why the target pixel is changed to the left or upper pixel is that the main scanning direction is left → right and the sub-scanning direction is upper → lower. This is because the isolated color removal processing has been completed for the pixel.
[0068]
By this processing, noise can be removed from an image with much noise. However, if this processing is added, a thin line of one pixel unit may be removed, and the reproducibility of a thin black character becomes a problem. Therefore, when the isolated color removal processing is applied to black pixels and when it is not applied The following two modes are provided. The output of the isolated color removal circuit is input to the area determination unit 253 as a 4-bit color code.
[0069]
The area determination circuit 247 of the area determination unit 253 determines which of the following four areas each pixel of the image belongs to.
[0070]
1) Normal area
2) Paint area
3) Line area
4) Line area in paint
The normal area is an area where nothing is performed, and the initial value is set in this area. The paint area is an area that fills the closed section. However, the region is a normal region on the black line at the boundary. The line area is an area for replacing black with a marker color. The in-paint line area is a composite type of the paint area and the line area, and is a line area in the paint area.
[0071]
As shown in FIG. 15, the area determination circuit 253 has a sensor of 128 pixels in the sub-scanning direction, and stores data read for each pixel and delay data of the immediately preceding pixel in the main scanning direction in a memory. I remember. The delay data stores a paint determination color that determines the color in the paint area, a line determination color that determines the color in the line or nested line area, the area, and the distance from the black pixel in the sensor movement direction to the horizontal black. There are a counter, a horizontal color counter that stores the distance from the color pixel, and a previous color that is the color of the pixel read one line before. The print color is determined by the logical synthesis of these data and the read data. The details are shown in FIGS.
[0072]
For example, as shown in FIG. 17, when the previous color is white in the paint area and the current color is the marker color, the vertical and horizontal black distance counters are checked, and if it is determined that the color is close to black, the area is determined to be the paint area. Then, the current color is printed, and the process proceeds in such a procedure that the current color is set as the paint determination color. The point to be noted in FIGS. 16 to 19 is that a counter is used. Therefore, if the marking is not strictly adjacent to black but is within a certain condition, the marking is regarded as adjacent to black and the processing is performed. It can be carried out. The reason why the gap is allowed instead of the protrusion as the marking condition is that the protrusion cannot be colored such as a pie chart, and the gap can be corrected.
[0073]
Further, since the counter only looks at the vertical and horizontal directions, even if the marker color or black is adjacent in the oblique direction, it cannot be detected by the vertical and horizontal counters. In this case, a malfunction occurs, so the area determination unit avoids the processing by adding a process as shown in FIG. This method replaces the target pixel with the previous color if the target pixel is white, the previous color is the marker color and the paint area, and if any of the vertical and horizontal directions is closer to black. As a result, the white gap between black and the marker color is processed as if it were the marker color, and a gap in an oblique direction can be dealt with.
[0074]
Also, the reason why the stored data does not include the vertical distance counter is that it is not necessary to store it because it can be calculated in the sensor currently being read.
[0075]
The color code after the processing described above is input to the output conversion circuit 254. This data is switched by the selector 248 to a color code before area determination and input to the density generation / print color determination circuit 249. The selector 248 is provided so as to be able to output data for which only color determination has been performed.
[0076]
The density generation / print color determination circuit 249 is a circuit that converts a 4-bit color code into CMYK data by using a preset output color table. For black, the density data of M (magenta) input to the marker editing circuit 227 is used to realize halftone.
[0077]
Here, there are the following three output conversion modes.
[0078]
1) Standard back mode
2) Standard blue back mode
3) Special blue back mode
The standard back mode is a mode in which the color code generated by the area determination circuit 252 is converted and output using the CMYK output color table shown in FIG. In the standard blue-back mode, the pixels determined to be white and output in the standard back mode are converted to blue, and the pixels determined to be black to be output are converted to white and output, and a blue-back original used for an OHP original can be created. . The special blue-back mode is almost the same as the standard blue-back mode, except that only black in the paint area is output as it is.
[0079]
The CMYK data that has undergone the above processing is subjected to processing such as scaling, masking, and binarization in each circuit block shown in FIG. 10, and is printed by the printer unit.
[0080]
Next, the blue-back processing in the output conversion circuit 254 will be specifically described.
[0081]
Here, consider a document as shown in FIG. This is the image viewed from the side, and the vertical axis represents the density. The black line on the left is a black line in a closed section, and the side of the black line is colored with a marker. The black on the right is a black character in the paint area. The fact that the density of black is mountain-shaped indicates that the density of black is low near the boundary between white and black. When the marker editing process is performed on such an image, an output result as shown in FIG.
[0082]
First, the left side of the black line representing the closed section is a normal area, and is blue as a background color. Next, since the black line expresses white using the inverted density, the edge portion of the black line becomes black. Next, the white in the paint area becomes the painted marker color. Similar to the black line, the black character is a white character having a black edge portion using the inverted density. If the marker color is a bright color such as pink, black generated between the pink color and the white character will be conspicuous.
[0083]
When the processing is performed using the area information of the stored data and the paint determination color to solve this problem, the result is as shown in FIG. The black line has a normal area as the area information and does not have a paint determination color, so that the reverse density is generated in blue, which is the background color. Black characters have a paint color as area information and a marker color as a paint decision color, so a halftone density is generated between the marker decision color and white, so the edges of the character must be filled with a dark level of the paint decision color And no dust is generated (black can be prevented from being generated at the edge).
[0084]
FIG. 23 shows this operation in a table. This corresponds to the case where the partial print determination color described above is black and the paint area is blue back. At this time, the inverted density is generated from the black density information, and the paint table, which is the paint determination color, is multiplied by the inverted density as a coefficient, so that the halftone processing can be performed on the edge of the character according to the surrounding color. In this figure, A, B, and C are constants set for adjusting the density.
[0085]
Next, a method of reading a marker painted on the edge of a document and setting a color determination parameter will be described below. In the present embodiment, the marker colors to be identified are defined as eight colors of cyan, green, blue, red, pink, violet, orange, and yellow, and the position to be painted with the marker at the leading edge of the document is also specified as shown in FIG. ing. When the marker edit mode is selected and a copy button for starting a copy operation is pressed, shading correction for removing unevenness of each pixel of the image reading sensor 221 is performed. After the completion of the shading correction, the image reading sensor 221 is moved to the position where the document coated with the cyan marker shown in FIG. 24 is placed, and the histogram shown in FIG. 25 is created. The histogram shows the frequency distribution of each of the main colors shown in FIG. 12 obtained by the main color extraction circuit 242 by calculating the ratio with the remaining two components.
[0086]
A method of creating a frequency distribution will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the color determination circuit 243, and shows a case where a document painted with a cyan marker is read and the main color extraction circuit 242 determines that the main color is cyan.
[0087]
Reference numeral 261 denotes an 8-bit register that stores cyan image data as a main color, 262 denotes an 8-bit register that stores magenta image data, and 263 stores yellow image data. This is a stored 8-bit register. The input of each of the 8-bit registers 261, 262, 263 is connected to the output of the black-and-white discriminating circuit 241.
[0088]
Reference numeral 264 denotes a division block for calculating the ratio between magenta and cyan based on the image data of cyan and magenta stored in the registers 261 and 262 and outputting a 3-bit signal. This is a division block that calculates the ratio of yellow to cyan based on the stored image data of cyan and yellow and outputs a 3-bit signal. Reference numeral 266 denotes an SRAM for inputting the ratio of magenta and yellow to cyan of the main color obtained by the division blocks 264 and 265 to the address bus and storing the frequency distribution. Reference numeral 267 denotes data read from the data bus when the input terminal A is at the H (high) level, adds 1 to the read data and stores the data, and stores data when the input terminal A is at the L (low) level. On the data bus. A read / write control unit 268 has a function of controlling reading / writing of the SRAM 266.
[0089]
That is, the primary color is cyan, and three colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow corresponding to one pixel of the document are stored in the registers 261, 262, and 263, and the read / write control unit 268 completes the operation in the division blocks 264 and 265. The output terminal R is set to the L level at the timing. When the output terminal R of the read / write control unit 268 goes low, the SRAM 266 enters a read state, outputs data at the address set on the address bus to the data bus, and the arithmetic unit 267 converts the data on the data bus to data. One is added. Next, the output terminal R of the read / write control unit 268 is set to the H level and the output terminal W is set to the L level at the timing when the addition processing in the arithmetic unit 267 is completed. When the output terminal W of the read / write control unit 268 becomes L level, the data bus of the SRAM 266 enters an input state, and the data stored in the arithmetic unit 267 is output to the data bus. Next, the read / write control unit 268 sets the output terminal W to the H level. When the output terminal W of the read / write control unit 268 changes from L level to H level, data on the data bus is stored in the SRAM 266. Similarly, a frequency distribution table is created for the main color magenta and the main color yellow.
[0090]
The frequency distribution table creation processing for one pixel of cyan painted on the original has been described above. In the present embodiment, the processing for obtaining the frequency distribution is repeated 100 times, and 100 points of cyan painted on the original are sampled to calculate the frequency. A distribution table has been created.
[0091]
Next, the image reading sensor 221 is moved to the position where the document coated with the green marker shown in FIG. 24 is placed, and the main colors cyan, magenta, and yellow when the document is coated with green, respectively. Create a frequency distribution table. Thereafter, similarly, the image data at the positions painted with the blue, red, pink, violet, orange, and yellow markers is read, and a frequency distribution table is created. In preparing the frequency distribution table, if a marker is not painted on the target position, the standard frequency distribution for the unpainted color is substituted. Lastly, in a frequency distribution of each of the primary colors cyan, magenta, and yellow, the frequency is commonly 0, and a predetermined range (an area in which cyan, magenta, and yellow are both dark and corresponds to light black). Correct the frequency distribution table so that is black.
[0092]
Next, a method of creating a marker reading color determination parameter from the frequency distribution table will be described with reference to the conceptual diagram of FIG. 28 and the flow of FIG. FIG. 28A is a frequency distribution table obtained for the main color C (created for each color by reading cyan, green, blue, red, pink, violet, orange, yellow, and black painted on the manuscript) Is synthesized). The frequency distribution table is stored in the SRAM 266 for each color, read out by a CPU (not shown), and processed according to the flow shown in FIG.
[0093]
In step S1, it is determined whether the black and blue regions are adjacent. If the regions are adjacent, the process proceeds to step S2. If the regions are not adjacent, the process proceeds to step S11.
[0094]
In step S2, the adjacent state of the black and blue areas is determined. If the black and blue areas overlap each other, the process proceeds to step S4, and if there is a gap (frequency 0) between the black and blue areas (FIG. 28A shows a state where there is a gap). Proceed to step S3.
[0095]
In step S3, the center between the black and blue regions is set, and the center between the regions is set as the boundary between black and blue, and the process proceeds to step S5.
[0096]
In step S4, the center during which the black and blue areas overlap is determined, and the center during the overlap is defined as the boundary between black and blue, and the process proceeds to step S5.
[0097]
In step S5, it is determined whether or not all the processing for determining the boundary has been completed for the portion where the black and blue regions are adjacent to each other. If all the processes for determining the boundary have been completed, the process proceeds to step S11. If the process for determining the boundary remains, the process returns to step S2. FIG. 28B shows a frequency distribution table when step S5 is completed.
[0098]
In step S11, it is determined whether the black and green areas are adjacent. If the regions are adjacent, the process proceeds to step S12. If the regions are not adjacent, the process proceeds to step S21.
[0099]
In step S12, the adjacent state of the black and green areas is determined. If the black and green areas overlap, the process proceeds to step S14, and if there is a gap (frequency 0) between the black and green areas, the process proceeds to step S13.
[0100]
In step S13, the center between the black and green regions is determined, and the process proceeds to step S15 with the center between the regions as the boundary between black and green.
[0101]
In step S14, the center during which the black and green areas overlap is determined, and the center during the overlap is defined as the boundary between black and green, and the process proceeds to step S15.
[0102]
In step S15, it is determined whether or not all the processes for determining the boundary have been completed for the portion where the black and green regions are adjacent to each other. If all the processes for determining the boundary have been completed, the process proceeds to step S21. If the process for determining the boundary remains, the process returns to step S12. FIG. 28C shows a frequency distribution table when step S15 is completed.
[0103]
In step S21, it is determined whether the blue and green areas are adjacent. If the regions are adjacent, the process proceeds to step S22. If the regions are not adjacent, the process proceeds to step S31.
[0104]
In step S22, the adjacent state of the blue and green areas is determined. If the blue and green regions overlap, the process proceeds to step S24, and if there is a gap (frequency 0) between the blue and green regions, the process proceeds to step S23.
[0105]
In step S23, the center between the blue and green regions is determined, and the center between the regions is defined as the boundary between blue and green, and the process proceeds to step S25.
[0106]
In step S24, the center during the overlap between the blue and green regions is determined, and the center during the overlap is set as the boundary between blue and green, and the process proceeds to step S25.
[0107]
In step S25, it is determined whether or not all the processing for determining the boundary has been completed for the portion where the blue and green regions are adjacent to each other. If all the processes for determining the boundary have been completed, the process proceeds to step S31. If the process for determining the boundary remains, the process returns to step S22. FIG. 28D shows a frequency distribution table when step S25 is completed.
[0108]
In step S31, it is determined whether the blue and cyan areas are adjacent. When the regions are adjacent, the process proceeds to step S32, and when the regions are not adjacent, the process proceeds to step S41.
[0109]
In step S32, the adjacent state of the blue and cyan areas is determined. If the regions of blue and cyan overlap, the process proceeds to step S34, and if there is a gap (frequency 0) between the regions of blue and cyan, the process proceeds to step S33.
[0110]
In step S33, the center between the blue and cyan regions is set, and the center between the regions is set as the boundary between blue and cyan, and the process proceeds to step S35.
[0111]
In step S34, the center during which the blue and cyan areas overlap is determined, and the center during the overlap is used as the boundary between blue and cyan, and the process proceeds to step S35.
[0112]
In step S35, it is determined whether or not all the processing for determining the boundary has been completed for the portion where the blue and cyan regions are adjacent to each other. When all the processes for determining the boundary have been completed, the process proceeds to step S41, and when the process for determining the boundary remains, the process returns to step S32. FIG. 28E shows a frequency distribution table when step S35 is completed.
[0113]
In step S41, it is determined whether the green and cyan areas are adjacent to each other. If the regions are adjacent, the process proceeds to step S42. If the regions are not adjacent, the process proceeds to step S51.
[0114]
In step S42, the adjacent state of the green and cyan areas is determined. If the green and cyan areas overlap, the process proceeds to step S44, and if there is a gap (frequency 0) between the green and cyan areas, the process proceeds to step S43.
[0115]
In step S43, the center between the green and cyan regions is set, and the center between the regions is defined as the boundary between green and cyan, and the process proceeds to step S45.
[0116]
In step S44, the center during which the green and cyan regions overlap is determined, and the center during which the green and cyan regions overlap is defined as the boundary between green and cyan, and the process proceeds to step S45.
[0117]
In step S45, it is determined whether or not all the processing for determining the boundary has been completed for the portion where the green and cyan regions are adjacent to each other. If all the processes for determining the boundary have been completed, the process proceeds to step S51. If the process for determining the boundary remains, the process returns to step S42. FIG. 28F shows a frequency distribution table when step S45 is completed.
[0118]
In step S51, it is determined whether the green and blue regions are adjacent. If the regions are adjacent, the process proceeds to step S52. If the regions are not adjacent, the process proceeds to step S61.
[0119]
In step S52, the adjacent state of the green and blue areas is determined. If the green and blue regions overlap, the process proceeds to step S54, and if there is a gap (frequency 0) between the green and cyan regions, the process proceeds to step S53.
[0120]
In step S53, the center between the green and blue regions is set, and the center between the regions is defined as the boundary between green and blue, and the process proceeds to step S55.
[0121]
In step S54, the center during which the green and blue regions overlap is determined, and the center during which the green and blue regions overlap is defined as the boundary between green and blue, and the process proceeds to step S55.
[0122]
In step S55, it is determined whether or not all the processing for determining a boundary has been completed for a portion where the green and blue regions are adjacent to each other. If all the processes for determining the boundary have been completed, the process proceeds to step S61. If the process for determining the boundary remains, the process returns to step S52. FIG. 28G shows a frequency distribution table when step S55 is completed.
[0123]
In step S61, the process of determining the boundary for cyan as the main color ends. Similarly, the processing for determining the boundary is performed for the main color of magenta and the main color of yellow.
[0124]
The result obtained by reading the marker painted on the edge of the document and setting the color determination parameter is used by the color determination circuit 243 in the actual copy operation. When only the marker is painted on the leading edge of the document (there is no black), the marker at the leading edge of the document is not printed on the printing paper according to the rule of the marker processing.
[0125]
By using the color determination parameter (for example, FIG. 28 (G)) set based on the result of actually reading the marker painted on the document, the variation in the color of the paper or the color of the marker or the reading sensor Thus, accurate color discrimination can be performed by eliminating the influence of the variation in the characteristics.
[0126]
Next, a modification of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, as a method of reading a marker painted on the edge of the document and setting a parameter for color determination, a basic type of the parameter for color determination is determined in advance, and the marker painted on the edge of the document is read. According to the result, a method of correcting the basic type of the color determination parameter is adopted.
[0127]
FIG. 29A shows the basic type of the color determination parameter in which cyan is the main color. The basic type of a parameter for judging a color (hereinafter, referred to as “region”) is a range that is distributed when a document coated with a marker is read in a normal use state.
[0128]
FIG. 29B is an extract of the cyan and green regions from FIG. In FIG. 29B, a is the distance to the end of the standard cyan area in the yellow direction with reference to the point where yellow and magenta are zero, and b is the standard distance in the yellow direction with reference to the point where yellow and magenta are zero. The distance to the edge of the green area, Z, is the distance to the boundary between cyan and green after correcting the color determination parameters.
[0129]
FIG. 29C shows a frequency distribution created by reading a marker painted on the edge of the document, and the distribution of cyan and green is within the range of the standard cyan region and the standard green region. It shows the case. c is the distance from the point where yellow and magenta are zero to the distribution end of cyan in the yellow direction, and d is the distance from the point where yellow and magenta are zero to the end of green in the yellow direction. . FIG. 29D is a diagram showing the boundary Z between cyan and green by correcting the cyan region and the green region in FIG. 29C.
Z = a + (ba) × (db) {(ac) + (db)}
The relationship holds.
[0130]
That is, the distance (ba) between the standard cyan area end and the standard green area end is obtained, and the obtained distance is calculated as the distance (ac) between the standard cyan area end and the cyan distribution end and the standard green area end. And the distance between the green distribution ends (db), and is set as the boundary Z between cyan and green. The cyan area after correction is indicated by the same symbol, but a solid line is drawn at the boundary to distinguish between the standard cyan area and the cyan area added by the correction. Similarly, the green area after the correction and the drawings after FIG. 29 also include solid lines indicating boundaries.
[0131]
FIG. 29E shows a case where the distribution of cyan is outside the standard cyan region and the distribution of green is within the range of the standard green region. FIG. 29F is a diagram showing the boundary Z between cyan and green by correcting the cyan region and the green region in FIG. 29E.
Z = c + (bc) ÷ 2
The relationship holds. That is, the center between the cyan distribution edge and the standard green area edge is defined as the boundary Z between cyan and green.
[0132]
FIG. 29 (G) shows a case where the distribution of green extends outside the standard green area and the distribution of cyan falls within the range of the standard cyan area. FIG. 29H is a diagram showing the boundary Z between cyan and green by correcting the cyan region and the green region in FIG. 29G.
Z = a + (da) ÷ 2
The relationship holds. That is, the center between the green distribution edge and the standard cyan area edge is defined as the boundary Z between cyan and green.
[0133]
FIG. 30A shows a case where the green distribution and the cyan distribution both protrude from the standard green region and the standard cyan region. FIG. 30B is a diagram showing a boundary Z between cyan and green by correcting the cyan region and the green region in FIG. 30A.
Z = c + (d−c) ÷ 2
The relationship holds. That is, the center between the green distribution end and the cyan distribution end is defined as the boundary Z between cyan and green.
[0134]
FIG. 30C shows a case where the distribution of cyan extends outside the standard cyan region, enters the standard green region, and the distribution of green falls within the standard green region range. FIG. 30D is a diagram illustrating a boundary Z between cyan and green by correcting the cyan region and the green region in FIG. 30C.
Z = b
The relationship holds. That is, the edge of the standard green area is defined as the boundary Z.
[0135]
FIG. 30 (E) shows a case where the green distribution extends outside the standard green area, enters the standard cyan area, and the cyan distribution falls within the standard cyan range. FIG. 30F is a diagram showing the boundary Z between cyan and green by correcting the cyan region and the green region in FIG.
Z = a
The relationship holds. That is, the end of the standard cyan area is set as the boundary Z.
[0136]
FIG. 30 (G) shows a case where the green distribution extends outside the standard green area and enters the standard cyan area, and the cyan distribution extends outside the standard cyan area and enters the standard green area. is there. FIG. 30H is a diagram showing a boundary Z between cyan and green by correcting the cyan region and the green region in FIG. 30G.
Z = a + (ba) ÷ 2
The relationship holds. That is, the center between the end of the standard cyan region and the end of the standard magenta region is defined as the boundary Z.
[0137]
In the case of FIGS. 30C, 30E, and 30G, there is a possibility that a marker of a different color such as green in the standard cyan area or cyan in the standard green area. Therefore, as described above, the boundary is determined and, for example, the fact that the cyan marker is likely to be detected as green is displayed on the liquid crystal of the operation unit (not shown), and a measure is taken to alert the user. . Although FIGS. 29 and 30 describe an example in which the boundary between cyan and green of the main color C is determined, the same processing is performed on the other colors of the main color C, the main color M, and the main color Y. It goes without saying that the application boundaries are determined.
[0138]
Next, in the above-described second embodiment, the color judgment parameter for judging the color of the marker used in the color marking is optimized according to the country or region where the copying machine is shipped. A first technique for converting the data will be described with reference to FIGS. 31 and 32. FIG.
[0139]
FIG. 31 shows an example of the scaling setting of the operation unit of the copying machine. In the case of Japan, since the A and B series are used as the paper, three types of magnification combinations A4 and B4, A4 and A3, and B4 and A3 are considered. In the case of the United States, since inch paper is used as paper, LTR and LGL can be considered as a combination of scaling. In the case of the European paper, since the A-series is used as the paper, A4 and A3 are conceivable as combinations of scaling. In other words, it can be seen that the number of combinations of scaling, the reduction ratio, and the enlargement ratio are different depending on the region even if only the scaling setting is considered. Currently, the method of controlling the magnification of a copier is not to create independent software for each region, but to create software for the entire world, register codes for regions, and use codes based on regions. The number of zooming combinations, the reduction ratio, and the enlargement ratio are made to correspond. That is, a code for a region is used in a control unit of a copier currently sold.
[0140]
FIG. 32 shows a flow for setting a color determination parameter corresponding to an area, and describes a process after a user of a copying machine selects marker editing and presses a copy button.
[0141]
In step S101, it is determined whether the regional code stored in the copying machine is Europe. If the regional code is Europe, the color determination parameter is set to European specifications (step S108). More specifically, a parameter for Europe is read from among parameters (prepared in advance) for determining the color of a marker painted on a document.
[0142]
If the regional code is not Europe in step S101, it is further determined whether the regional code is United States (step S102). In this embodiment, the area code is commonly used by the scaling circuit 228 and the marker editing circuit 227. However, the area code may be independently used as the marker editing circuit 227.
[0143]
In step S102, if the area code is U.S.A., the color determination parameter is set to the U.S. specification (step S107). If the area code is not U.S.A., the color determination code is set to the Japan specification. (Step S103).
[0144]
After executing step S103, S107 or S108, the process proceeds to step S104, in which the color determination parameters are set, that is, the color determination area shown in FIG. 12 is set. In a succeeding step S105, a copying operation by marker editing is performed. The detailed marker editing copying operation is as described above. When the marker editing copying operation is completed, the copying operation is completed.
[0145]
Next, a second method for optimizing the color determination parameter according to the country or region where the copying machine is shipped will be described with reference to FIG. In this method, information representing a region is added to a print head.
[0146]
FIG. 33A shows the configuration of the print head K (301). At the left end of the print head K, a portion for forming a projection indicating the destination is provided, and the destination can be determined by detecting the presence or absence of the projection by the switches SW1 and SW2. For example, when the switches SW1 and SW2 are both OFF, Japan, when the switch SW1 is ON and the switch SW2 is OFF, the United States, when the switch SW1 is OFF and the switch SW2 is ON, Europe, and when both the switches SW1 and SW2 are ON. In such a case, the color determination parameters are set to other regions.
[0147]
As described above, by adding the information indicating the destination to the print head, it becomes possible to make the main body of the copying machine common for the processing of the marker worldwide.
[0148]
Next, a third method for optimizing the color determination parameter according to the country or region to which the copying machine is shipped will be described with reference to FIGS. In this method, information representing an area is added to the print head as in the second method.
[0149]
FIG. 33B shows the configuration of the print head Y (302). A portion is formed at the left end of the print head Y to form a protrusion indicating the color determination parameter when the marker color is the Y primary color, and the presence or absence of the protrusion is detected by the switches SW-Y1 to SW-Y320 to correspond to the area. It is possible to set the determined color determination parameter. FIG. 34A shows standard parameters when Y is the primary color. When Y is the main color, there are five colors of yellow, orange, red, green, and black in the standard state. When Y is the primary color, one of the five colors is selected when considering a certain area (one cell in the figure).
[0150]
Therefore, the switches SW-Y1 to SW-Y5 are assigned to one area, and the determination color of the area is determined as to which one of the switches SW-Y1 to SW-Y5 is ON, and corresponds to the number of the SW that is ON. The determined color is set as the determination color. In this embodiment, since there are 64 (8 × 8) areas for one main color, 320 (64 × 5) SWs and 64 projections for specifying the judgment color are required. In addition, it is necessary to adjust the position of the projection for each region. Therefore, in an actual copying machine, a nonvolatile memory is mounted on the head, the color determination parameters are stored in the nonvolatile memory, and the color determination parameters are read from the nonvolatile memory of the head when the power of the copying machine is turned on. To set the color judgment parameter.
[0151]
FIG. 34B is a diagram illustrating an example of a color determination parameter for a certain area set by the third method. In this area, orange marker pens are not used, but red near orange (recognized as red in this area) is often used to prevent erroneous determination of red as orange. Therefore, an example is shown in which the orange determination area is defined as red.
[0152]
As a result, in the standard setting, it is possible to reduce the erroneous determination of the marker colors by limiting the places where eight marker colors can be determined to seven colors.
[0153]
Although the description has been given of the Y main color, it goes without saying that the same processing can be performed for the C main color and the M main color.
[0154]
When the above-described third method is employed, it is desirable that the color of the ink stored in the print head be the same as the color of the main color of the color determination parameter.
[0155]
Next, a fourth method for optimizing the color determination parameter according to the country or region to which the copying machine is shipped will be described with reference to FIGS. In this method, an area is determined based on the characteristics of an AC power supply line, and a color determination parameter is set based on the obtained area information.
[0156]
FIG. 35 is a block diagram showing a configuration for examining the characteristics of the AC power supply. As the AC power supply, a voltage of 100 V to 240 V, and a frequency of 50 HZ or 60 HZ is a target. In the figure, an AC power supply is applied to an attenuator 311, the voltage of which is attenuated to 1/1000 by the attenuator 311, and input to an AD converter of the CPU 312. The signal input to the AD converter is processed based on the flow shown in FIG. FIG. 36 shows a flow of determining the area where the copying machine is used from the characteristics of the AC power supply.
[0157]
In step S111, the minimum value is subtracted from the maximum value of the voltage, and then the time from the maximum value to the minimum value of the voltage is measured (step S112). In a succeeding step S113, it is determined whether or not the voltage of the AC power supply is a 200 V system. That is, the peak value of the voltage obtained in step S111 is multiplied by the reciprocal of the attenuation rate of the attenuator 311. If the obtained value is 500 V or more, it is determined that the power supply voltage is a 200 V system, and the process proceeds to step S118. If the obtained value is 500 V or less, it is determined that the power supply voltage is not 200 V, and the process proceeds to step S114.
[0158]
In step S114, it is determined whether the voltage of the AC power supply is a 115V system. That is, the peak value of the voltage obtained in step S111 is multiplied by the reciprocal of the attenuation rate of the attenuator 311. If the obtained value is 300 V or more, the power supply voltage is determined to be a 115V system, and the color determination parameter is set to the U.S.A. (Step S117). On the other hand, if the obtained value is 300 V or less, it is determined that the power supply voltage is not of the 200 V system, and the color determination parameter is set to the specification for Japan (step S115). Specifically, a parameter for Japan is read from among parameters (prepared in advance) for determining the color of the marker painted on the document.
[0159]
In step S118, it is determined whether the frequency of the AC power supply is 50 Hz or 60 Hz. That is, the time from the maximum value to the minimum value of the voltage obtained in step S112 is doubled to obtain one cycle time, and the reciprocal of the one cycle time is obtained to obtain the frequency of the AC power supply. If the frequency of the AC power supply is equal to or lower than 55 HZ, it is determined that the frequency is 50 HZ, and the color determination parameter is set to the specification for Korea (step S119). If the frequency of the AC power supply is equal to or higher than 55 HZ, it is determined that the system is of the 60 HZ type, and the color determination parameter is set to a European specification (step S119).
[0160]
After executing steps S115, S117, S119 or S120, the same processing as steps S104 and S105 in FIG. 32 is performed in steps S121 and S122, and this processing ends.
[0161]
According to the fourth method, even when destination information is not added, it is possible to determine a use area and to set an accurate color determination parameter.
[0162]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, the image processing apparatus according to claim 1And an image processing method according to claim 8.According to, color data marked by a predetermined color marker is registered in advance,Read the color data in the area that has been painted multiple times with the same color marker and register the marker color,By comparing the registered color data with the read color data when reading the original,Color as the same color marker regardless of how many times it is paintedSince the determination is made, it is possible to prevent the marker color from being erroneously determined due to the marker unevenness of the user, the characteristic variation of the image reading sensor, and the like, and a desired marker editing result can be obtained.
[0164]
Claim2Image processing equipmentAnd an image processing method according to claim 9.According to this, the region where the device is sold is determined, and the parameter for color determination is changed according to the sales region, so that accurate marker color determination can be performed regardless of the sales region.soWear.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a color page sheet.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a marker color registration circuit of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the contents of processing in the ratio calculation circuit of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a color distribution of a marker.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process in a ratio calculation circuit of FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a color code determination circuit in FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is a view showing another example of a color padding sheet.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the contents of marker editing according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing circuit of a color copying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a marker editing circuit in FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a color determination method.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a color code table.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a technique for removing isolated points.
FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining storage data at the time of area determination.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a table for explaining a technique for determining an area.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a table for explaining a technique for determining an area.
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a table for explaining a method of area determination.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a table for explaining a technique for determining an area.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a tailing process.
FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an output color table.
FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a blue-back process.
FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a table for explaining color density determination conditions.
FIG. 24 is a diagram exemplifying a position of a marker painted on the leading edge of a document;
FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frequency distribution when a cyan marker is read.
FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a color determination circuit.
FIG. 27 is a flowchart of a process for creating a color determination parameter.
FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a process of creating a color determination parameter.
FIG. 29 is a diagram for describing a correction process of a color determination parameter.
FIG. 30 is a diagram for describing a correction process of a color determination parameter.
FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a setting example of scaling.
FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a process of setting a color determination parameter.
FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a print head to which area information is added.
FIG. 34 is a diagram for describing an example of changing a color determination parameter according to area information.
FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an AC power supply and a configuration for measuring characteristics.
FIG. 36 is a flowchart of a process of determining a sales area based on characteristics of an AC power supply.
FIG. 37 is a diagram for describing marker editing.
FIG. 38 is a diagram for describing marker editing.
FIG. 39 is a diagram for explaining a problem of conventional marker editing.
[Explanation of symbols]
14 Ratio operation circuit
54 color code judgment circuit
55 Marker color registration circuit
227 Marker editing circuit
251 Marker color discrimination circuit

Claims (9)

Document reading means for reading the document, and marker color determining means for determining a color marked on the document with a predetermined color marker based on the read image data, and a predetermined color based on the information of the marked color In an image processing device that performs marker editing,
Marker color registration means for reading and registering color data marked by the predetermined color marker in advance,
The marker color registration unit reads color data in an area that has been painted multiple times with the same color marker and registers the marker color,
Wherein the marker color determination means compares the registered color data with the read color data when reading a document, and performs color determination as a marker of the same color regardless of how many times the image is painted. apparatus. Document reading means for reading the document, and marker color determining means for determining a color marked on the document with a predetermined color marker based on the read image data, and a predetermined color based on the information of the marked color In an image processing device that performs marker editing,
Providing an area determining means for determining an area where the device is sold,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the marker color determination unit changes a parameter for color determination according to an area where the apparatus is sold. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the area determining unit determines a sales area based on a scaling setting of the apparatus. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the area determination unit determines a sales area based on area information added to a print head of the apparatus. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the area determination unit determines a sales area based on characteristics of an AC power supply supplied to the apparatus. A parameter storage means for storing a color determination parameter in a print head of the apparatus is provided, wherein the marker color determination means performs a color determination using the color determination parameter stored in the parameter storage means. The image processing device according to claim 2 . 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the color of the ink stored in the print head is the same as the color of the main color of the color determination parameter. A document reading step of reading the document, and a marker color determining step of determining a color marked on the document with a predetermined color marker based on the read image data, and a predetermined color based on the information of the marked color. In an image processing method for performing marker editing,
Providing a marker color registration step of reading and registering color data marked by the predetermined color marker in advance,
In the marker color registration step, the color data in the area that has been painted multiple times with the same color marker is read and the marker color is registered,
In the marker color determining step, the registered color data and the read color data are compared at the time of reading a document, and the color is determined as a marker of the same color regardless of the number of paints. Method. A document reading step of reading the document, and a marker color determining step of determining a color marked on the document with a predetermined color marker based on the read image data, and a predetermined color based on the information of the marked color. In an image processing method for performing marker editing,
An area determination step is provided for determining an area in which the image processing apparatus implementing the image processing method is sold,
The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the marker color determination step changes a parameter for color determination according to an area where an image processing apparatus that performs the image processing method is sold.

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